1.
Once when the Great Master was going by boat to Bongnae Cloister
at Puan from Pupsung, an unexpected storm came up and the boat
was greatly agitated, causing confusion, crying, vomiting and
stumbling among the passengers.
Then the Great Master, in a placid and dignified manner, said,
"Even when a person is confronted with death, if one reflects
upon past sins and pledges to do good deeds in the future, one
may be saved with the help of the power of Heaven. Take hold
of yourself."
The people aboard were deeply moved by his dignified manner,
and they became calm. Shortly afterwards, the storm abated and
the sea was peaceful and the people were more than touched by
the Great Master's great composure and sacred, compassionate
presence.
2.
When the Great Master went to Silsang Temple, he saw two old
monks who were rebuking one of the young novices because he
resisted the monk's persuasion to practice Sitting Meditation.
They said to the Great Master,
"Even a thousand Buddhas could not save him. He is but
trash."
Smiling, the Great Master said to them,
"You may think you are doing him a favour, but to me you
are only keeping him from practicing meditation."
The monks asked him the reason and the Great Master said,
"If one forces another to do something the other does not
wish to do, that person will always hate doing that thing. If
I tell you to mine gold from that mountain right now, will you
believe in my words and obey me?"
The monks thought for a while and answered, "I don't think we
would do so, sir!"
And the Great Master said,
"If I force you to do so even though you do not believe
in my words, you will think my words more unbelievable. The
young man's situation is the same. if you force him while he
has no desire, he will think meditation more unbelievable and
will lose interest in meditation forever. Such is not a very
good method of leading people."
One of the old monks asked, "Then what is the best method, sir?"
The Great Master replied,
"If you knew that there was gold in that mountain, you
should mine it first and use it most effectively. Then people
would want to know how you happened to become rich. if you explained
to them how you had done it, then, according to their own desire,
they would gladly try to mine the gold for themselves. This
is the best way to teach."
The monks were so moved that they sat upright and said, "Your
teaching method is truly profound."
3.
When the Great Master was at Bongnae Cloister one day, he refused
to eat his supper. Kim Nam-Chun and Song Juk-Pyuk, who were
serving him, asked the reason. The Great Master said,
"I am greatly indebted to you while I am here. However,
since you are going to fight with each other tonight and will
leave before dawn, I will not eat this evening."
Both men said to the Great Master, "We are especially intimate
friends. Even if there should be some trouble between us, how
could we leave this place. Please, have your meal."
In a few hours, however, the two men were fighting and preparing
to leave in a rage. Kim Nam-Chun fortunately remembered the
Great Master's warning and remained under his teaching for the
rest of his life, while Song Juk-Pyuk left early in the morning.
4.
In the 9th year of Won Buddhism, when the Iksan Headquarters
was first built, a toffee business was started in order to support
the Order. The Great Master warned his disciples, saying,
"As these days are not safe ones, you should be very careful
to keep your gate locked at night and be just as careful with
your belongings. If our things are stolen, we will not only
suffer the loss, but at the same time will give someone a chance
to commit a crime."
The Great Master provided locks, but the disciples did not thoroughly
follow his instructions because they had little experience.
One night, all the toffee and containers were stolen. The disciples
were so ashamed that they did not know what to do. Then the
Great Master told them,
"You should not worry too much. Whoever came last night
was a great teacher who taught you a lesson. You consider me
as your great teacher, but you did not listen carefully to me
when I warned you. From now on, however, without my further
warning, you will be careful. Consider what you lost last night
as a small tuition fee that you paid for the lesson."
5.
A disciple had not changed his old evil habits and his disposition
was still rather crude even many years after his conversion.
The other disciples told the Great Master,
"It looks like he shall never improve even if he stays
with you for a hundred years. Let us have him leave so that
the atmosphere of this place for moral training will be kept
clean." The Great Master replied,
"Why do you speak in that way? If he is like that even
in this place of moral training, what will he become in ordinary
society? You should not separate this place of moral training
from the rest of society. If you do, it is the way of narrow
thinking in the Hinayana sense, a sense of self-righteousness.
If you think open-heartedly, the wrongdoings of society are
the wrongdoings of this place of moral training itself. If you
wish to move the wrongs from here and place them in society,
would that be perfect moral practice? It was the original purpose
of Buddhism to teach and guide people into goodness by all kinds
of methods. If we try to deal with only good people, is that
not against our original purpose? Therefore, you should not
hate or send. away someone who is not quick to respond; instead,
do your best to teach him and encourage him to remain as a Buddha's
disciple eternally, so that he may attain Buddhahood. Only he
himself can decide if he should leave."
6.
When one of the disciples flagrantly disobeyed the rules of
the Order, the other member made a decision to purge him. Then
the Great Master said,
"How dare you make such a decision? It is against my will.
To me, the thousands of people around me are not my only people,
and the limited acreage of this temple is not my only place
of moral training. Instead, all people in the world and all
the facilities in the world are my people and my place of moral
training. You may forsake me but I shall not forsake any of
you."
From that time on, he called the misbehaving disciple to him
every now and then, at times scolding him and at other times
preaching to him with tenderness until the disciple turned by
himself into the way of goodness and penitence.
7.
When the Great Master was staying in Yung- san, several prostitutes
became his followers and occasionally came to the Temple of
Won Buddhism. The other people asked the Great Master,
"If those women meet with us in this sacred place, other
people will laugh at us and the development of this Order will
be hindered. Please make them stop coming."
The Great Master said with a smile, "Don't you dare say such
a senseless thing. The essentials of Buddhism are originally
based upon the spirit of infinite compassion and mercy for all
people, for the purpose of saving them. How could we possibly
discard them? The gate of the Order was opened and must always
be open even more widely for such sinful people, so that they
may be welcome here and helped to become aware of their sins,
be shameful of their sins and past deeds, and therefore get
rid of their past deeds by themselves. We should not be afraid
of what other people say. There are different ranks of people
and jobs in the world, but there is no distinction in Buddha
Nature. Therefore, if some people who are ignorant of this principle
avoid studying with those dishonorable women, they are the ones
who may find it difficult to be saved."
8.
From 1919, when the Korean people revolted against the Japanese
rule, the surveillance of the Japanese public officers upon
the Great Master grew more intense every day. All through his
preaching life, the Great Master met with much oppression and
prohibition by the Japanese government officials. In particular,
while he was at Keumsan Temple and at Yungsan, he had to undergo
severe questioning by the police officers of Kimje and Yungsan
police stations. Yet he kept his poise and calm demeanor at
all times and never seemed to hate or hold a grudge against
the officers. And he told the assembly.
"They are only doing their duty. We must also do what we
are supposed to do. If we are doing right things, no one can
stop us in the long run."
9.
When a Japanese policeman treated the Great Master with disrespect,
addressing him without the proper honorific form, Oh Chang-Keon
felt quite indignant at his impolite manner, and scolded the
policeman severely. When the policeman left, the Great Master
said,
"It's not wise to scold him, for he does not know me very
well. One who wants to teach or guide others should try to move
others through the heart. If one knows when to accept defeat,
one surely will win at other times, but if one tries to win
when it had been better to lose, one is bound to be defeated
eventually."
10.
Because of a disciple whose political thoughts were suspect,
the Great Master was called in by a Japanese policeman one day
for questioning. As the Great Master was urged to pledge that
he would take care that none of his disciples would cause any
further problems, he said,
"Even if parents want to guide their youngsters in the
right way, the individual differences in their dispositions
sometimes make it impossible. So, also, if a nation wants to
guide all of its people in one right way, the differences in
the thoughts of the people make it impossible. Likewise, even
if I try to guide everybody in the right way, it is difficult
to do it overnight. Though I shall try my best in the future,
I cannot pledge that there will be no one like him again."
Upon returning, the Great Master told the assembly,
"Because the strong and the weak have stood against each
other for a long period of time, the discrimination against
each other has been severe and grudges have built up to the
point that there will be a great war, but afterwards peoples'
wisdom will grow and both individuals and nations will have
learned how to help each other and never interfere with each
other's sovereignty."
11.
A man asked the Great Master,
"Is it possible that there is one enlightened to the Way
in an imperfect world such as ours?"
The Great Master said, "Don't we need more of these people in
our imperfect world?"
The man asked again, "Have you really been en- lightened to
the Nature and attained Buddhahood?"
The Great Master said with a smile,
"Attaining Buddhahood is not to be proved through words,
nor can it be understood only by being told, unless one has
been enlightened to the Nature. The true value of morality will
be proved by the people of future generations."
12.
A detective was sent by the authorities to the headquarters
of Won Buddhism, where he stayed many years and kept surveillance
both on the Great Master and on the Won Buddhist Order. The
Great Master treated him in exactly the same way as he would
have a loving disciple of his own. One of the disciples said,
"Aren't you doing a little too much, Great Master?"
And the Great Master said,
"Your ideas are different from mine. What's wrong with
inspiring him so that he may be saved?"
Whether the man was in his presence or not, the Great Master
was always concerned about him. The man was finally led to conversion,
after which he enrolled himself in the Order, and helped greatly
with various aspects of the Order. His Dharma name was Whang
E-Chun.
13.
When the Great Master was at Yungsan, a policeman from the Yungsan
Station went to a neighboring village and sent a messenger to
ask the Great Master to come to see him. Though the Great Master
seemed willing to go and see the policeman, the surrounding
disciples were indignant at the policeman's insolence, and tried
to restrain the Great Master from going. Then the Great Master
said,
"What's wrong with my going to see him?"
One of the disciples said,
"Even though this is a time of low morality, it is still
ridiculous that a mere policeman in a low position tells such
a great leader like you, who has hundreds of followers, to come
or go at his command. If yon do go, not only your dignity but
the face of the Order will be greatly hurt."
The Great Master said,
"What you say seems to make sense. But I have my own ideas.
Don't worry."
He swiftly went to see the policeman, and when he came back
he told the disciples,
"When I went to see him, he seemed awfully moved and welcomed
me. Since he has returned to his office showing great satisfaction,
he should no longer feel like oppressing us. If I had not gone
to see him, he would have felt like oppressing us even more.
What would have happened to our Order then? Since the Japanese
are trying to suppress any and all Korean organizations, it
is best to treat him as I did. Generally speaking, if one wants
to be treated well by others, one should first show cause for
being treated well. Then other people will treat one accordingly.
However, even after attaining a high state, a Bodhisattva is
seldom conscious of that state."
14.
Among the new religions of the time, there were often problems
caused by property and sex, and society as well as the government
often focused attention on these religions. Therefore, inspections
and interference by the government in all religions was frequently
carried out. However, since there was nothing for which one
could find blame regarding the Study Society for Buddha Dharma
(the original name of Won Buddhism), inspectors often said to
each other,
"The system of this Order, its plan and the practices could
easily run even a nation."
When their remarks were reported to the Great Master, he said,
"True morality is meant for the good life of an individual,
a family, a nation and the world, and there is no reason why
we could not run even a world."
15.
When the Great Master was at a Seoul Temple he weeded the garden
himself and said,
"There are two meanings to my work. One is to show the
responsible managers that they should always look after and
care about the surroundings of the temple, and the other is
to teach that our mind resembles the garden in that if one does
not watch carefully, senseless thoughts can thrive as weeds
thrive in the garden. One should take the two things as one
and be observant of both the mind and the garden, keeping both
clean and weeded. Please try to remember what I have said."
16.
The Great Master always kept his things neatly arranged, with
everything in its proper place, so that he might pull out anything
he wanted even in the dark. He also kept his surroundings perfectly
clean, and not even dust was allowed to remain. Concerning this,
he said,
"If things are kept in a disorderly manner, it shows that
the mind of the owner is disorderly. If a place of moral training
is unclean, it shows that the field of the mind is uncultivated.
If a mind is coarse and lazy, everything will remain ungoverned.
How can one neglect little things as being unimportant?"
17.
Whenever the Great Master was leaving his room, he locked his
chest carefully. One of his disciples asked the reason, and
he replied,
"Since many kinds of people who are not yet trained in
morality come and go in my place, I am only protecting them
from the temptation of doing something wrong."
18.
The Great Master always valued any little thing such as a piece
of paper, a pencil stub or a piece of string, and said,
"No matter how abundant certain things may be, if one does
not know how to value them, one is bound to be rewarded with
poverty. For instance, if one used water wastefully, one would
be reincarnated in a place where one might suffer from a lack
of water."
19.
The Great Master, since he was able to look ahead and prepare
at his leisure for future events, was never at a loss in an
emergency. And, since he never recklessly threw things away,
even waste materials, in many cases he found good uses for them.
20.
The Great Master always warned against extravagance in food,
clothing and shelter, and said,
"If one should overspend for food, clothes, and shelter,
one may someday be brought to ruin. Even if one lives in abundance,
if one follows after the luxurious way, eventually one's wicked
mind will become strong, hindering the moral training of the
mind. Therefore, those of moral training should be conscious
of maintaining simple and plain living styles all the time."
21.
Once when the Great Master was coming through the gate from
the headquarters with some of his disciples, the children playing
there all bowed to him. There was one child, the youngest of
all the children, who did not bow to him. Then the Great Master,
caressing the child, said to him,
"If you make a bow, I shall give you cookies."
The child made a bow, and the Great Master continued on with
a smile. After a while, however, he suddenly said,
"Wait a moment for me. I forgot something."
And he hurriedly returned to his room to get some cookies for
the child. Thus he always kept his word, however trivial the
matter might be.
22.
It was when the Great Master was sick in bed that one of his
disciples suggested:
"A follower who is living next door has a very comfortable
chair. I will go and bring it here for you."
The Master refused and said,
"Never mind. The owner is not even home now. How could
I use it only for my own comfort? No matter how close one may
feel toward another, it is better not to use the other's belongings
without the other's offer or consent."
23.
When the Great Master received letters, he read them carefully
himself and made replies. Afterwards, he would sort them out,
saving whatever was necessary and burning the rest in a clean
spot. He ex- plained,
"Letters always contain the sincerity of the writers, and
therefore should not be handled with carelessness."
24.
Once the Great Master scolded a disciple severely, but a little
later, when the disciple reappeared, the Great Master treated
him with a compassionate look on his face. One of the puzzled
disciples asked him the reason, and he replied,
"A while ago I was trying to chase away his evil mind,
but now I am trying to inspire his good mind that has been restored."
25.
Since Yang Ha-Woon, the Great Master's wife, worked quite hard
by herself in taking care of the private household of the Great
Master, both before he opened the religious Order and even more
so after- ward, the general followers felt uneasy and discussed
ways to release her from such hard work through their donations.
The Great Master, noticing their intention, said,
"Your opinions sound quite courteous, but I suggest you
do not help her because she will be happier if she earns her
own living without the help of others as long as she is able
to work, particularly at a time like this when a great Order
is being created."
26.
Lee Chung-Choon was deeply enlightened while she was watching
a pair of hogs playing, and she shook off worldly pleasures
and entered the Order of moral training for study. In the course
of her study, she finally decided to dedicate all of her land
to the Order, but the Great Master warned her by saying,
"Your thoughts are quite touching, but a person's mind
is likely to change in the course of time. Therefore I want
you to think it over carefully."
Chung-Choon, who was more moved by his refusal and was sure
of her dedication, insisted continuously that her land should
become the property of the Order. The Great Master finally accepted
the offer by saying,
"When you do good for others, try to make your virtue like
that of Heaven and Earth, in which no feeling of pride abides,
so that your merit may last for eternity."
27.
When the Great Master was at Maryung branch temple, Oh Song-Ahm
came to see him and said,
"My daughters Chong-Soon and Chong-Tae, since they have
become your disciples, refuse to get married. Though I am against
the idea of their remaining unmarried, they seem so determined
that there is not much I can do about it. Will you please look
after their future?"
The Great Master replied, "My Law is different from those of
Buddhism in the past, and therefore marriage is not prohibited.
However, if they are so determined to dedicate their innocent
bodies and minds to moral practice and religious works, how
could I overlook that fact? Yet, their futures depend more upon
their own minds than on those of their parents or teachers.
The best you and I can do for them is to guide them wholeheartedly."
Song-Ahm stood up and bowed to the Great Master in agreement
with the idea of letting his two daughters be devotees of Won
Buddhism.
28.
When the Great Master made a trip to Pusan, Yim Chil-Bo-Wha
came to see him and said,
"You are welcome in my home."
The Great Master said,
"I know that you are a faithful follower. But what would
your husband, who is still not a member, say if I should come?"
Her reply was,
"He would be most honored if you would come, even though
he is not enrolled."
Then the Great Master, perceiving the relationship between himself
and the couple in former lives, gladly accepted the invitation.
29.
A stranger came to the Great Master and begged to be accepted
as his disciple. The Great Master said,
"Why don't you come once or twice more before you make
a decision?"
The man said, "I am determined. Please, allow me to become your
disciple right now."
The Great Master, after thinking for a while, gave him a Dharma
name 'Il-Chi' which meant 'he who goes back in a day'."
The stranger came out of the Great Master's room and said to
the other disciples,
"Our past relationship must have been something very special
for us all to meet here again and be the disciples of the Great
Master."
Thereupon he urged the others to buy some very good medicine
he had. But when no one wanted to buy it, he become angry, saying
"How could your friendship toward a member be like this?"
And he left before dark.
30.
One day a disciple was thatching a Temple of Won Buddhism, but
he did not put the finishing touches to it with strawrope. The
Great Master warned the disciple by saying,
"If the wind blows tonight, your work will be in vain."
The man said, "The wind is not so bad in this area," and left
the roof unfinished.
Quite unexpectedly, however, the wind was strong that evening
and the roof was blown away. The man did not know what to do
and said regretfully, "Even though the Great Master warned me
with his supernatural power, I did not listen and have caused
these unfortunate results."
Then the Great Master said,
"I only taught you the proper way of doing things. You
not only disobeyed, but now you are even trying to make a magician
of me. Your fault is greater by doing so. If you think of me
as such, you not only will never learn the great right Law from
me, but will also try to look for magical power in me, which
is a dangerous thing. I urge you to correct your thoughts and
hereafter try to walk only on the sure and just way."
31.
When Lee Woon-Woi was seriously sick, his family ran to the
Great Master and asked for a cure. The Great Master said,
"Call a doctor and let him give treatment."
When the patient had recovered after a few days, the Great Master
made a comment,
"When Woon-Woi was sick, it was not proper to ask me for
a cure. I am a doctor of your spiritual diseases, and you may
ask me for a treatment of your spiritual sickness, but not for
your bodily disease. That is the right wisdom."
32.
When Kwang-Nyung, the second son of the Great Master, fell ill,
the Great Master made his family look after him with their very
best care. Nevertheless, when the son finally died, he said,
"We can only do our best, but life is not controlled by
human power."
His attitude in doing public works and in preaching did not
seem to be affected at all by his loss.
33.
When Lee Tong-An passed away, the Great Master prayed in silence
for a while, and tears ran down his cheeks. His disciples tried
to comfort him. by saying,
"Please do not hurt yourself."
The Great Master said,
"I am not hurt, but I cannot help but grieve over his death.
This man took a proper hold on the religious rope from the very
beginning and helped me greatly, and from that time he never
plotted any scheme for his own position in carrying out all
his public duties."
34.
A young dog that was fed by the headquarters was bitten by a
big dog, and, when nearly dead, howl- ed miserably. The Great
Master, hearing it, said,
"Human beings and animals are no different in their desire
for life."
He looked sympathetic for the dog, but when it finally died;
he said to the person in charge of the ritual,
"For the sake of the soul of the dog, please perform the
Forty-ninth Day Deliverance Service." And he granted the money
for the service.
35.
The Great Master could treat a person very kindly at times,
and the person would not dare be discourteous, or the Great
Master might scold a person severely at times and the person
would never hold a grudge against him. The Great Master might
find a person not very useful, but would never forsake the person.
36.
The Great Master sometimes warned some of his disciples about
too much talk and too little practice, but he never ignored
what they said, and though he warned some of them about possessing
only talent without virtue, he never ignored their talent.
37.
The Great Master, while leading his followers, warned them against
four kinds of misconduct: the first was that of turning public
property into personal property; the second, of a devotee's
staying too long in the private home without reason or running
a personal private business; the third, of not cooperating in
public affairs because of the desire for personal ease; and
the fourth, of seeking for supernatural power by practicing
meditation only prejudicially instead of following the great
path by studying the Threefold Learnings simultaneously.
38.
The Great Master followed five basic rules in giving reward
and punishment according to the fundamental ability of each
follower. The first was to omit giving any reward or punishment
to those who did everything correctly. The second was to use
only punishment for those who did most things right but who
made occasional mistakes, in order that they might become perfect.
The third was using both reward and punishment alternately for
those who acted correctly sometimes, but who were wrong at other
times. The fourth was to use only reward and no punishment for
those who were wrong most of the time but were correct once
in a while, so that their spirits might be lifted. The last
pattern was to give neither reward nor punishment, but only
observe for a while, those who did everything wrong.
39.
The Great Master used to scold good and faithful disciples for
even a little mistake, while praising insincere disciples for
trivial good deeds. One of the disciples asked him the reason,
and he said,
"For those who make mistakes only once in ten times, I
want them to correct even that one mistake and become perfect,
but for those who act correctly only once in ten times, I want
that one good sprout to grow and flourish."
40.
Whenever the Great Master wanted to appoint someone to a post,
he asked about their faith, public spirit, and practice before
he ever asked about their knowledge and talent.
41.
The Great Master occasionally listened to traditional Korean
music together with his followers and praised particularly such
legendary pieces as Choon-Hyang's Story, Shim-Chung's Story,
and Heung-Boo's Story, in which constancy, filial piety and
fraternal love are well described, often emphasizing the importance
of constancy and harmonious human relations in social life.
He often said,
"Though the formality of loyalty, constancy, filial piety
and fraternal love may change according to the changing era,
the same spirit must be applied in different forms, no matter
what era we are in.
42.
In all the affairs of the Order, the Great Master was always
with his followers in their work, sorrow and happiness, and
he was never stingy, wasteful or wishful of miraculous luck.
43.
When the followers were called out to work on a project, the
Great Master was always with them to direct the project, and
he used to say,
"Among the Six Principles to observe in regard to the mind
and body, you should not forget to observe the Three Principles
for the body. In order to help you remember, I let you work
like this."
If there were those who were absent without reason or those
who were rather idle, he scolded them severely.
44.
A man who had traveled widely in the country came to see the
Great Master and said,
"I have traveled a great deal and found the Diamond Mountain
to be most outstanding, and I have met many people but never
found anyone as great as you."
The Great Master replied,
"Why is it that you talk only of mountains and people?
Are you not aware of the fact that the greatest morality in
all history is being built in this country?"
45.
One day when the patriot Ahn To-San was visiting, the Great
Master expressed his welcome and recognition of the outstanding
work Mr. Ahn had done for the nation. To-San replied,
"My work is not only small in its scale but also short
in skill and therefore only increases the police pressure upon
my people. But yours is larger in its scale and proficient in
its scheme so that you receive little direct pressure or restraint
while you are contributing much to your followers. Your power
is truly great, sir."
46.
Once the Great Master said,
"I wonder why you people trust and follow me while I possess
neither any particular skill nor much knowledge."
Yet, he was so skillful in everything without having a particular
skill, and he knew everything without having any particular
knowledge. In guiding living things his virtue was greater than
that of Heaven and Earth and his wisdom brighter than the sun
in penetrating Facts and Principles.
47.
Kim Kwang-Sun, admiring the Great Master with wonder, said,
"While I have lived under the Great Master's guidance and
tried to follow in his footsteps for over twenty years, I have
not yet accomplished even a few of his thousands of works and
deeds, each of which I admired and wished to follow. Among the
many splendid virtues he possesses, I am particularly awed by
three things. His genuine, unselfish public-mindedness, his
consistent sincerity, and his generosity in embracing both good
and evil. From my observation, the Great Master never sees or
acts on any matter with a selfish thought, but only concentrates
on public service in constructing this moral Order. His way
of doing works is so sincere and consistent that he has not
changed a bit since the day he guided us in the first reclamation
project. In guiding the public, the Great Master embraces evil
people with love and tender care more often than he does good
people, and has said, 'Everyone likes good people, but the way
of great benevolence is to like even the evil ones.' These are
his examples that I would like to follow."
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